The good fight

Your smartphone needs an update

Last week on News and Notes, we took a delightful trip through the smartphone-related controversies ripping their way through the theater world. Wasn't that fun? Didn't we all laugh and laugh?

No, we didn't. We, the theater world, very much did not laugh. Not a chuckle, a chortle or even a sniggle. We were deadly serious about this. Almost as deadly serious as we get when we argue about whether it should be spelled "theater" or "theatre". (Why don't we compromise and spell it "theatr"?)

Last week, in my musings, as I argued that maybe this reactionary luddite response to smartphones and all their distracting jiggerypoo was undermining our cause by shaming and alienating basically the entire upcoming generation of potential theater-goers. In those musings, I wondered when our expectations of an audience changed from the raucous, barely-contained mob of Shakespeare's day to the rapt church mice we try to train today.

Thankfully, theater historian Scott Walters gave us a historical rundown of audience interaction in theater, and, as I guessed, the quiet, respectful audience is another one of those relatively recent inventions that we like to pretend has always been the norm, like pop music coming in album-length formats. Just as the "album" only came about because of a change of technology and is now on the wane because of another change in technology, so, too may be the "quiet, respectful audience".

But, if you're still fervently listening to only LPs, then Patti Lupone has some more stern lectures for you about theater etiquette.

Updates from the front of the social justice war

I don't understand how the term "social justice warrior" became a pejorative. There's nothing this country loves more than going to war against something. It could be another country, a practice, an ideology, a disease, an object, even a concept. It is literally impossible to punch an idea, but that will not deter us from trying. We'd declare war on a pumpkin pie if we thought it looked at us funny. We venerate warriors, chastise pacifists and value above all else a person's willingness to fight for a cause. Any cause, really. Just pick one. We don't care. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

And yet, jerks everywhere somehow get to use a phrase with the word "warrior" in it with contempt. Well, hold on to your fedoras, fellas, because the social justice warriors have been making some wins lately:

Remember when the Ordway produced Miss Saigon despite being protested by the Asian American community and obstinately continued insist that there was nothing wrong with its choice in programming? Ordway CEO Patricia Mitchell eventually apologized for that, but now we have it in writing. Mitchell, who is retiring soon, sent an official apology in a letter to the Don't Buy Miss Saigon Coalition. It's a positive step forward, but with Mitchell leaving and no official promise from the Ordway as an organization that they won't pull crap like this again in the future, there's still plenty left to do.

Way back, oh, like a month ago, the Tony Awards made history by giving tons of awards to women and then not bothering to show them to you. A study called released last week, called "The Count", showed that there has been an increase in the percentage of actually produced plays written by women. Granted, 22% is still a low number, but it's certainly better than what it used to be (17%). If you still go around blabbing nonsense like "but there just aren't that many female playwrights" The Kilroys still have a list for you to read through.

There's still plenty of fight left for our social justice warriors. Hey, critics: maybe you can try to be a little less racist when you review a show. Hey, everyone: maybe you can learn the difference between "being offended" and actually being hurt by bigotry. So get in the fight and make a difference in the arts world!

Just don't ask for actors to get paid minimum wage. That won't happen anywhere.

Have you seen Woody?

I feel like I'm one of the few people in the Twin Cities who hasn't run into Woody Harrelson yet. He's several weeks into production of the new film, Wilson, and I don't have a single "Woody sighting" to share with City Pages. I mean, I guess it's cool that the troubled Snowbate program actually seems to be working again and that 75% of the crew working on the movie is local talent, but I have yet to see Woody prancing around in pot leaf socks. Damn it, where's my amusing anecdote about that one time that one movie was made here?

*Sigh.* At least it looks like they're having a good time here.

Little life lessons

If I've learned one thing in this life, it's that no matter what you're into, someone is going to try to soak money out of you by turning the thing you love into a convention.

I guess I could have learned more about life from being an actor. In fact, according to Susan Shehata at the Huffington Post, I should have learned these 5 Life Lessons.

Maybe I haven't mastered this whole "life" thing yet, but I do know a few other things. Number one on my list: don't ever attack the wall of the theater your play is being staged in with an axe.